© EuroFootball.com
On Saturday in the home arena of Panevezys "Ekranas", in the last minutes of the match, they lost to Klaipeda "Atlantas". The guests celebrated victory with a minimal result of 1:2.
After the match, the coach of "Ekranas" did not hide his disappointment not only with the result but also with the team's performance. Meanwhile, the coach of "Atlantas" was happy with his players' performance and the three points snatched in the final minutes.
After the match, the head coach of "Ekranas", V. Urbonas, stated that the changes made in the second half yielded results, but the team failed to fully execute the coach's tasks:
"It's hard to evaluate that loss when we concede a goal in the last minutes, but the whole match was tough enough. Of course, without Aurimas Kucys, it's difficult to play forward, and it shows. The front line automatically collapses. "Atlantas" played really well. Such an outcome is tragic for us, but it is what it is."
When asked if the absence of not only A. Kucys but also D. Petrauskas on the field had a significant impact, the coach stated that they expected a bit more from the players who replaced the injured footballers:
"It gives an opportunity for other players to show themselves. Unfortunately, the performance of some players was not as expected. It seems that the blame for that loss rests on me. The situation on the field today was not good."
"Yes, it's the start of the season, but we've played quite a few matches already. I think talking about the start or the beginning is not worth it anymore. Everything is already in full swing. We need to find ways to get out of the current situation. By adapting some recipe, we can fix the situation. Today, as we saw, the exit of T. Markevicius and D. Norvilas saved us. We need to make passes; we cannot blindly kick forward and hope that A. Rimkevicius will latch onto that ball. Today, we wanted more of a combination play. I can praise G. Tomkevicius; he is a true captain for today and did a lot of work. It's a pity we didn't finish that work completely," the coach said after the lost match.
The mood of the head coach of "Atlantas" was better, but K. Sarsania admitted that the match was tense:
"I want to say that it was really tough match. I want to thank the team's men for showing their character. When we were leading by one goal, we had a few more moments, it's a pity we didn't capitalize on them. I am glad that the team did not succumb to the pressure from "Ekranas," and they deservedly scored a goal. I believe with our play, we deserved this victory."
